REETHS-PUFFER TO SAVE MONEY BY PRIVATIZING JANITORS
MUSKEGON, Mich. — The Reeths-Puffer school board unanimously
voted to privatize janitorial services as part of a savings plan
to reduce an estimated $830,000 budget deficit, according to The
Muskegon Chronicle. Administrators say the deficit is due to
increasing employee health care and retirement costs.

The custodial union and school officials did not reach a contract
agreement that could have kept the 29 janitorial positions in-house, The Chronicle reported. The school board instead voted to
hire Enviro-Clean Services of Holland, according to the
newspaper.

Several hundred people protested before the meeting, and a
uniformed police officer was present, The Chronicle reported. Michigan Education Association President Iris Salters attended
the rally and told the protestors to "hang tough," according to
The Chronicle. Also at the rally, state Rep. Doug Bennett, D-Muskegon, said school districts in West Michigan would get rid of
"everyone you trust," and give the jobs to "illegal immigrants,"
by privatizing custodians and bus drivers, The Chronicle
reported.

Bennett was heard to tell Kathie Oakes of the teachers union, "We
all know what's going to happen — they are going to hire illegal
immigrants to fill the jobs," according to The Chronicle. The
newspaper said Bennett tried to clarify his remarks when he
discovered a Chronicle reporter was standing next to Oakes.

The Chronicle said Bennett explained himself by saying Holland,
home of Enviro-Clean, also is home to many illegal immigrants.
The Chronicle also reported that Bennett repeated his remarks to
the entire crowd a few minutes later and was met with a "somewhat
muted response."

Reeths-Puffer and several other Muskegon County schools are
considering a move to privatize bus drivers as a way to save more
money, The Chronicle reported.

HOLLAND TEACHERS SKIP STUDENT EVENTS
HOLLAND, Mich. — Teachers in the Holland Public Schools are
skipping student events as a way to protest ongoing contract
negotiations, according to The Grand Rapids Press.

No teachers attended an open house at Harrington Elementary
School, including those who had earlier signed up to volunteer,
The Press reported. Parents and administrators stepped in to run
the event. The district is holding six open houses for parents
and children as part of a school reorganization plan.

Some Harrington teachers left their unattended vehicles parked in
front of the school with signs taped in the windows, according to
The Press.

Charles Bullard, president of the local teachers union, indicated
union members were not present at a senior band concert the same
night, The Press reported. Teachers are invited to
extracurricular activities, but are not required to attend.

Contract negotiations continue monthly, although the school board
earlier declared an impasse and implemented a less expensive
health insurance plan, The Press reported.

DISTRICT, STATE DISAGREE ON BEECHER DEFICIT
FLINT, Mich. — Beecher Public Schools and the Michigan Department
of Education have a $1.9 million disagreement over the district's
budget, according to The Flint Journal.

Beecher Superintendent Forrest Gunderson said the district has
emerged from a seven-year budget deficit and will end the 2005-2006 school year with a six-figure surplus, The Journal reported. The state, however, shows Beecher ending the year with a $1.9
million shortfall.

"That's a year old," Gunderson said. "We did end last year with
sizable (debt)."

Glenda Rader of the Michigan Department of Education said a
deficit reduction plan filed Jan. 11 by the district shows a $1.9
million deficit at the end of the year, according to The Journal.

"I'm not saying (a surplus is) impossible," Rader told The
Journal. "We'd love to see it happen. It's just not in the
information they've supplied to us."

The district cut $1.2 million from its budget last year by
closing buildings, freezing salaries and cutting positions,
according to The Journal.

FURTHER READING:
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "School Budgets: A Crisis of
Management, Not Money," Feb. 11, 2005
http://www.mackinac.org/6980

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible Public School Districts," Dec. 3, 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4891

MORE MICHIGAN TEACHERS FACE BACKGROUND CHECKS
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Department of Education reviewed 40
percent more teaching certificates in the first quarter of 2006
than it did last year, according to The Detroit News.

In the first three months of this year, the state reviewed 73
teachers who have criminal records, The News reported. Only 52
certificates were reviewed during the same period in 2005. The
increase is due, in part, to a check of criminal backgrounds for
all Michigan school employees, The News reported.

The checks are done for college graduates seeking a teaching
certificate, as well as for working teachers, The News reported.
About one-third of those reviewed have criminal convictions from
more than 20 years ago. Background checks on teachers were not
required by law until 1993, according to The News.

Among the convictions found were misdemeanor assault, furnishing
alcohol to a minor and misdemeanor negligent homicide, The News
reported.

TUITION TAX CREDITS GET THE NOD IN ARIZONA
PHOENIX — Up to 5,000 low-income children will be eligible for
scholarships under a tuition tax credit law passed in Arizona,
according to The Arizona Republic.

Businesses will receive tax credits for donating to a $5 million
scholarship fund that will give at least a $1,000 scholarship to
each eligible student for use at the school of their choice, The
Republic reported. The law, which was enacted without Gov. Janet
Napolitano's signature, sunsets after five years.

"This is a wonderful day for educational opportunities in
Arizona," Clint Bolick, president of the Alliance for School
Choice, told The Republic. "We hope that this is just the
beginning for school-choice legislation this year."

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "Vouchers or Tuition Tax
Credits: Which is the Better Choice for School Choice?"
July 27, 2004
http://www.mackinac.org/6710

SOME TEACHERS DOUBTFUL STUDENTS CAN MEET NCLB STANDARDS
WASHINGTON — Half of the people tasked with helping students
become proficient in reading and math under the No Child Left
Behind Act are not so sure it can happen, according to an
Associated Press-AOL poll that appeared in Booth Newspapers.

Half of the teachers surveyed said they are not confident
children will meet the NCLB standards by the 2014 deadline. Parents, however, are more optimistic, with almost 80 percent of
them saying they think their children will succeed, Booth
reported.

"Schools in general are not going to be able to meet the
standards," Steve Peterson, an Illinois teacher of 31 years, told
the AP.

The survey also found that parents are twice as likely as
teachers, 31 percent compared to 15 percent, to consider current
standards "too lenient," according to Booth. Minority teachers
were found to be more optimistic than white teachers that
students will succeed, but the optimism of parents was the same
between minorities and whites, Booth reported. Parents with
college degrees and higher incomes were more optimistic than
parents without.

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (http://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of nearly 150,000 published by the Mackinac
Center for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.